April - June 2007, Volume 3, Issue 2

Pelinescu-Onciul D, Albu D

Intrauterine progestin and estradiol subdermic implant as hormonal replacement therapy for the patients with metrorrhagia in preclimax

Acta Endo (Buc) 2007, 3 (2): 179-187
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2007.179

Objectives. To determine whether levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine device (LNGIUD) in association with oestradiol subdermic implant is an efficient and safe therapy for neurovegetative disturbances in climacterium, for the patients who had previous metrorrhagia in preclimax.\r\nPatients and method. We performed a prospective study on 18 menopausal patients (group A) with a mean age of 50.2 ? 1.5 years with LNG-IUD, inserted in preclimacterium for dysfunctional uterine bleeding (biopsy showed us simple endometrial hyperplasia) and 20 menopausal women with neurovegetative symptoms that refused hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) as control group B. In group A, patients had amenorrhea after 6.8 ? 1.7 months from IUD insertion. Our criteria for selection were: presence of neurovegetative disturbances, FSH >25 UI/L, no contraindication for hormonal replacement therapy. Group A patients had a subdermic implant with estradiol 25 mg every six months. All patients were regularly followed: first visit after one month, the next visits every three months for three years. At each visit we observed neurovegetative symptoms, uterine bleeding, endometrial thickness assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography. The Kupperman test of menopausal distress index was calculated at each visit.\r\nResults. All patients reported the absence of neurovegetative symptoms after 4.5 ? 1.8 months of therapy. Fifteen of them (83.33%) had no vaginal bleeding during the study, three patients presented minor uterine bleeding during the first six months of follow-up. Transvaginal ultrasonography showed endometrial thickness < 5mm in all our subjects. Four patients presented breast discomfort for a short period.\r\nConclusion. LNG-IUD in association with estradiol subdermic implant proved to be an efficient therapy in climacterium. The capacity of LNG-IUD to determine endometrial atrophy contributes to local safety of this hormonal replacement therapy.

Keywords: levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine device, hormone replacement therapy, menopause, estradiol subdermic implant

Correspondence: Dragos Albu MD, Filantropia Hospital, Ion Mihalache street 11-13, sector 1, Bucharest, Romania, email: dragosnicolaealbu@yahoo.com